Sweet Potato Stars Bento

I used some slices of okinawan sweet potato for this bento. Locally I buy this purple fleshed potato at Asia Mart on Guerneville Road. It tastes like a regular orange fleshed sweet potato, but look at that color!

Also in this bento: steamed edamame, a piece of steamed corn from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, shishito peppers fried in olive oil and tossed in salt from Beet Generation Farms, a slice of Gravenstein Apple from Walker Apples, an orange cherry tomato from the Oakmont Farmers Market, and a yakionigiri rice ball from Trader Joe's.

I am coming up on another milestone and another donation to Redwood Empire Food Bank, so get ready for a fun giveaway. I'll probably do it sometime next week!

I started a new blog for my nail art, so if you like seeing nail art (mostly hand painted, although I will do some stamping as well), then check out sonoma nail art, my new blog! This is a little crow picking at a shiny ribbon. I like how it turned out. :)

I also included this lunch on Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays. You'll find a great collection of bento lunch ideas on her blog every Wednesday. Happy bentoing!

Fake Strawberry Bento

I am playing with your mind in this bento! What looks like a strawberry is actually a slice of watermelon radish! Moohoohahaha! I guess it would have been even more subversive if I had cut it in the shape of a watermelon, huh?

In this bento: corn from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, bbq pork from G&G Supermarket in Santa Rosa, slices of armenian cucumber from Redwood Empire Farms, the crazy strawberry shaped watermelon radish slice (from Orchard Farms), tamagoyaki omelette made with an egg from Hector's Honey, a bit of Violet Queen Broccoli (so pretty and tasty) from Orchard Farms, and lightly steamed green beans from The Patch. Super local bento!

And here's a look back at the bento I made a year ago today. Quite fun, it's got an ant made from olives and nori, plus teeny tiny deviled eggs made from hard boiled quail eggs. Tee hee!

Sorry I am not posting so much right now. I am covering the morning show again for coworkers, so my bento making is not happening as often (if I tried to make bento at 4am when I have to get up, they would be very ANGRY bentos), and when I do make them, it's mostly leftovers. Not so inspiring. Only 3 more weeks of covering the morning show! Zzzzzzzz....

Miso Soup Bento

Hi bento pals! Today I tried out a trick that I first discovered through notabrownbag's website. It's portable miso soup! You can buy powdered miso soup packets, and I think I may even have one hiding in one of my desk drawers, but there is nothing like fresh miso paste and delicious cubes of tofu. Today even turned out kind of chilly with a few drizzles, so it's a perfect day for miso soup.

In this bento: steamed white corn, cucumber slices, cherries, my portable miso soup, and breaded pork cutlets leftover from last night's dinner. Portable miso soup is super easy: in the silicone cupcake liner I have a ball of miso paste mixed with a pinch of dashi granules, topped with cubes of tofu and sliced scallions. Dump the all of those ingredients into a bowl and top with hot water. Et voila: Miso Soup!

Note: I have tried making miso soup without dashi, and it just is kind of flat tasting. I found dashi granules at Asia Mart on Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa. It's totally worth it if you are making miso soup at home.

Overtime Bento

You probably won't see many bentos from me in the next week. My coworker is off on vacation (his started the day I came back from Seattle), so that means that I am doing both my job and his. No time to breathe! It means I am here for very long days, with little chance to leave the office, so I have to be prepared. I bought these two bentos at a store called Tokyo Japanese Lifestyle in Seattle. They are matching colors and will hopefully work well enough to keep me from dying of hunger through these long days of work.

In the large bento: caprese skewers, a few slices of Armenian cucumber from Redwood Empire Farms, steamed corn on the cob from Ortiz Farms, fried padron peppers and tamagoyaki omelette from Crescent Moon Farms, and rice with a nori flower and beni shoga pickled red ginger.

This is an onigiri box, but I was too lazy to make an onigiri rice ball for this bento. In the lower compartment: edamame tossed with soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, powdered ginger, a bit of sugar, and black sesame seeds, plus some cherry tomatoes from Ridgeview Farms. In the upper container: more rice with beni shoga and black sesame seeds.

Happy Bentoing! I'll chat with you again when I come up for air. :)

Oh My Stars!

My mom is originally from the midwest and one of her favorite sayings is "Oh My Stars!" It cracks me up. And since I get to see her this weekend in Seattle, I thought I would make a starry bento.

This bento has cherry tomatoes from Ridgeview Farms and Triple T Ranch, corn from Duffy at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market, star shaped onigiri rice balls with black sesame seed accents, and a few grapes from Schletewitz Family. In the lower compartment: another star onigiri, baby carrots, steamed edamame, and chicken prepared kind of like karaage (Japanese style fried chicken) but with a glaze.

I have to head to the airport soon, so I'll try to come back and post the recipe while I am waiting for my flight. Have a great weekend Bento Buddies, and maybe I will run into you in Seattle. :)

Ready for Fall Bento

Dang, it's been nearly a week since I posted a bento. I did make three bentos on Friday for a trip to Movie Night in the Park last week, but didn't take great pictures of them. We were too excited about watching the movie. :)

Fall is definitely on its way, and I have to stop thinking we might still have an actual summer in Wine Country. Oh well. But fall is such a great time of year! To get myself into the autumn mood, I made a bento filled with leaf-shaped roasted potatoes. Yum!

In the upper compartment: an heirloom tomato salad made with lime juice, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and basil, corn on the cob from the Santa Rosa Original Cerified Farmers Market, and steamed edamame. In the lower compartment: roasted leaf-shaped potatoes, greens from Offerings of the Land, and cherry tomatoes from Triple T Ranch and Ridgeview Farms. I used small leaf shaped cookie cutters to make the potato 'leaves'.

A closeup of the cutie little cherry tomatoes and the roasted potatoes. I tossed the taters with olive oil, salt, and Chat Masala, a spice I picked up at The Savory Spice Shop. It's kind of tangy and spicy at the same time. Really yummy!

The tomato salad was made with tomatoes grown by Larry Wagner of Sebastopol. Larry is always one of the big winners in the Kendall-Jackson Tomato Growing Contest each year. I believe this salad I made contains his Japanese Black Trifele tomatoes. I was lucky enough to take home a few of Larry's tomatoes after out broadcast at the Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival this past weekend. Despite some technical difficulties, it was a wonderful broadcast. And this weekend we will be at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market for their bit Tomato Tasting! I love, love, LOVE tomatoes!

I included this bento in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog. Take a look for more inspirational bento ideas.

Ladybug Bento

A week from today will be the one year anniversary of the passing of Carol Marie Geddes, a woman I never met, but feel like I know through the love and thoughts of her husband and friends. Carol died from cancer on September 15th, 2009 when she was only 40 years old. I met her husband Glen just a few weeks after Carol had passed away. My husband was high school buddies with Glen and had reconnected with Glen over facebook. Tragically, I missed meeting Carol by just weeks. Next week, Glen and his friends and family will gather to celebrate Carol's memory by releasing live ladybugs into the air. Ladybugs were one of Carol's favorite things, and Glen continues to be comforted each time he sees a ladybug, knowing that Carol's loving spirit is not something that will ever go away.

Today I made a ladybug bento in honor of Carol, and I am really looking forward to the ladybug ceremony next week.

In the upper compartment I have steamed edamame and corn from Duffy at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market, an orange cherry tomato and french radish slices from Ridgeview Farms, and slices of charentais melon (dressed with honey, lime zest, and lime juice) also from Ridgeview Farms. In the lower compartment a mix of chicken, zucchini, and red onion cooked with soy sauce and spices, and leftover cardamom scented rice with two cherry tomato ladybugs (decorated with nori), a nori heart, and some of the salad greens and flower from Offerings of the Land.

Hi Carol! I used mayonnaise and a toothpick to attach the nori to the cherry tomatoes (actually one cherry tomato from Triple T Ranch cut in half). It worked really well and was not too difficult.

This is a new bento box that I got at the Disney Store! They have a selection of about 5 different bento boxes with different Disney/Pixar characters. And they are very reasonably priced!

This Ariel box is two tiered with a removable plastic divider for the upper tier. It latches shut very securely with two latches on either side.

I also included this lunch in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog. Check it out for other great bento ideas.

Bento M-O-U-S-E

A friend of mine is recovering from surgery and has asked me to make him a get well bento. He is a SUPER fan of Disney, so I went to the Disney Store and found BENTO BOXES! I was hoping against hope that they might have some, and they did. And even better, they were on sale 3 for 10 dollars! I picked up a Mickey and pals one for Tim, a Princesses one for my step daughter, and two for me: a Toy Story one and an Ariel one. Oh goody goody goody!

For Tim, I put together this bento filled with meatballs, homemade spaetzle, a cherry tomato from The French Garden in Sebastopol, a fig from The Patch in Sonoma, greens from Offerings of the Land in Glen Ellen, two fried potatoes shaped like Mickey, steamed broccoli, and carrot flowers.

Here's the top of the bento box. It is pretty cool and comes with two removeable dividers inside. The only thing I don't like about it is that the latches on the sides have to be perfectly lined up in order to stay shut. But for 3 bucks, it can't be beat.

My bento is very similar, although I picked up this bento box in San Francisco Japantown. It is a three tiered box and I only used the lower tier for this bento. It cost a bit more than 3 bucks I am sad to say. In my bento: steamed corn on the cob from Duffy at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, cherry tomatoes from The French Garden and Ridgeview Farms, a fig from The Patch, fried Mickey potatoes, meatballs, steamed broccoli, carrot flowers, and greens from Offerings of the Land.

I like this Mickey Mouse box a lot and I also found the Mickey vegetable cutters and stamps at the same shop. I need to figure out how to make the stamp come out better because you can barely see the face details.

I hope that Tim likes his Mickey Mouse bento and gets well soon. This is the first bento that I have made for someone outside of my immediate family.

Caprese Skewers Bento

Today's bento celebrates the fact that summer has FINALLY arrived in the bay area. We have had seriously chilly weather for most of August, so much so that one of my pals nicknamed it the month of Fogust. Ha! Today we are hitting the upper 90s and 100s. Woot! I will not complain, at least not for a few days, because I have sorely missed this hot hot heat.

Summer (and I mean the real summer, not wishy washy milquetoast summer) means no or little cooking and lots of fresh tomatoes. Caprese salad is my go-to dish when it gets this hot.

I took the caprese salad idea and applied it to bento by making these caprese skewers. In this bento: steamed corn on the cob from Duffy at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market, edamame, an Italian Sugarplum from Triple T, two baby carrots, two turkey patties, grapes from Neufeld Farms, and caprese skewers made with cherry tomatoes from The French Garden in Sebastopol, basil from the Wednesday Night Market, and fresh mozzarella cheese.

If you missed the interview I did with Sheri of Happy Little Bento yesterday, I have uploaded it in two segments here. It was really fun and I think we were able to demystify bentos for those who are curious about how to make them.

Happy Little Bento Interview Part 1

Happy Little Bento Interview Part 2

Winner of Sonoma Bento Giveaway

Congratulations to... Journal Mommy Yenny! Mommy Yenny says that she also has a year-round farmers market and that she loves to get fruits and veggies in season. Thanks for following Sonoma Bento and I hope you like the fun prize pack I put together, Mommy Yenny! I'll be contacting you today to get your mailing information. You can visit Journal Mommy Yenny's bento blog at her site, Mommy of Twins.

The winner was selected randomly out of 71 entries. I had to make a spreadsheet of the entries because there were a few people who did not separate their entries into different posts, and I wanted to make sure those people got the right amount of chances to win. Thanks so much to all of my followers, new and old!

This was a really fun experience, especially finding out about different farmers markets and how many of us like to support local farmers and enjoy seasonal treats. With so many instances of contaminated food, it really makes sense to buy from trusted local producers. I hope you were as inspired as I was reading all of the great farmers market comments.

Today's bento is hyper local! The only non-local ingredients were staples like flour, salt, pepper, and olive oil (although I can get local olive oil, I just don't have any on hand right now). This is a true Sonoma Bento.

In the upper compartment: zucchini "pasta" tossed in a simple vinaigrette with few slices of okra on top (got this 'pasta' idea from bentobird), cherry tomatoes, arugula omelette, fried okra, and basil leaves. In the lower compartment: cherry tomato, a mini gala rabbit apple, steamed corn on the cob, italian sugar plums, arugula leaves, and grapes.

The zucchini, arugula, and italian sugar plums are from Triple T Ranch. The egg is from Hector's Honey. The okra and basil are from a merchant at the Wednesday Night Santa Rosa Farmers Market. The cherry tomatoes are from Sebastopol's French Garden. The apple is from Ridgeview Farms in Healdsburg. The corn is from Duffy's RHS Farms. And the grapes are from Neufeld Farms. I even used local red wine vinegar in my vinaigrette from local producer Bruno Albini, and local garlic from Crescent Moon Farms.

While normally I try to fit two or three local items into my bento lunches, I really wanted to highlight the fact that there is so much available here in Sonoma County that being a 'locavore' is ridiculously easy. If you have access to a farmers market, or a farm stand, a backyard garden, or even a generous neighbor with a zucchini plant, try to use these items in your lunches. You'll feel better by supporting a farmer. You can be confident that your food isn't tainted. You'll be eating seasonal foods at the peak of nutrition and taste. You will avoid the amount of gas, packaging, and preservatives it takes to bring non-local, non-seasonal food to the table.

Hug a farmer! :) Or just buy his or her products. And be sure to ask for advice on how to prepare the ingredients. More than likely, she has a favorite way to prepare that ingredient. And be sure to go back and tell the farmer how it worked for you. That personal interaction is what makes shopping at farmers markets so fun.

Recipe for Fried Okra

6 okra pods

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

3 tablespoons flour

pinch of salt

freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup olive oil

Trim okra tops and cut pods in half lengthwise. In a shallow bowl, combine egg and water. Whisk together. On a plate, combine flour, salt and pepper. On another plate, scatter panko breadcrumbs. Dip okra slices in egg wash, then in flour mixture. Redip okra in the egg wash, then roll in panko breadcrumbs. Fry okra slices in olive oil that has been preheated to medium in a small skillet. Turn okra slices to get all sides browned. Drain slices on a paper towel. Makes 6 fried okra slices, enough for 1 bento box lunch. I like to make a dipping sauce of mayo + hot sauce. Triple T Ranch makes a yummy blend called Hoppin Jalapeno. Use your favorite hot sauce.

P.S. Be SURE to tune in this afternoon at 5:30pm PST to KSRO 1350AM. I will be interviewing Sheri from Happy Little Bento about bento box lunches. The interview will also be broadcast on the internet at ksro.com. Just click on the Listen Live link in the upper righthand corner.

Gravenstein Apple Bento

Gravenstein Apples are an heirloom variety of apple that have been grown in Sonoma County since the late 1800s. This past weekend we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Gravenstein Apple Fair. This fair is my very favorite fair of the entire year. It is set under sprawling oak trees in a big park and does not have the typical fair things you expect like carnival rides or trying to throw darts at balloons for cheap stuffed animals. They have a hay bale maze that is free for the kids to wander through, and there was a place set up with apples tacked to a plywood board. Hit one with a dart and win a bag of apples! But mostly, this fair is about the Gravenstein Apple.

The Walker family has been growing apples since the mid 1800s in Sonoma County. Generations of Walkers have made their living by growing Gravensteins.

A new company in Sonoma County called Hot Cheese made special grilled cheese and Gravenstein sandwiches. They were sooo good, paired with zucchini pickles and seasoned sweet potato fries.

The treat I look forward to most of all is the piping hot Gravenstein Apple Fritter. Church ladies have a booth set up and all they do for two days straight is make these cinnamon powdered sugar topped fritters and vats of coffee. The line for Fritters can get pretty long, but it is so worth it!

Of course, I had to make a nail design to go along with the Gravenstein Apple Fair! Gravensteins have a red and green streaked skin, sweet/tart flesh, and are perfect for making pies. Of course there is a apple pie baking contest, apple pie eating contest, applesauce eating contest, and more! They should have an apple nail design contest, ha ha!

I look forward to this fair so much, that I kind of go into withdrawl when it is over. So I decided that today's bento would celebrate the Gravenstein Apple! I used the Hot Cheese recipe as my inspiration for an apple shaped grilled cheese sandwich with Gravenstein Apple and ham, and a little cucumber skin 'leaf'. Also in this bento: Gravenstein Apple 'rabbits', edamame, cherry tomatoes, corn on the cob, cucumber slices, grapes (including a cutie grape 'tree'), and red bell pepper slices. The Hot Cheese version of this sandwich does not have meat in it, and they added a delicious curry seasoning. If you can find them (Windsor Farmers Market or they do catering!) you have to try it... sooooo good!

Recipe for Gravenstein Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwich

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 grated garlic clove

2 slices white bread

1 slice gouda or provolone cheese

thin slices of Gravenstein Apple

1 or two slices ham

mayo (optional)

Soften the butter and add the grated garlic. I use a Microplane Zester to grate the garlic really fine, into a paste really. Set the butter aside. Assemble the sandwich by spreading mayo on the bread then top with cheese, slices of apple, and ham. Top with the second piece of bread. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Spread butter mixture on the outside of one of the sides of the sandwich. Place that buttered side down in the skillet. Grill until the bread is golden brown. Spread butter on the top of the sandwich, then carefully flip the sandwich over to grill the opposite side. If needed, cover the skillet to help melt the cheese. Serves one.

P.S. You can now vote for my nail design at The Daily Nail! I entered in a design representing Sonoma County for a 'home' themed contest. I would really appreciate it if you took a moment to vote for me on The Daily Nail blog. Thanks and wish me luck!

Rush Hour Bento

This morning I was in a mad dash! My friend Carina asked if I wanted to go to the farmers market with her (of COURSE I do!) and I realized I had to get moving if we were going to make it in time. So this bento was made with the utmost haste. But really, I think it turned out beautifully.

There's steamed corn from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, steamed edamame, an orange tomato and a red cherry tomato, inarizushi stuffed with plain rice, two turkey patties, and a few pretzels.

Bento Stash made this bento possible! I literally was able to throw this together and take a picture in 10 minutes. Yay! I also posted this on the What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog hosted by Shannon. Check it out for great bento ideas!

Here's the recipe for the turkey patties, which I modified from a post by Debra at hapa bento:

Recipe for Turkey Patties

4 oz ground turkey meat

1 pinch salt

1 quail egg yolk (or part of a chicken egg yolk)

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 green onion, minced

1 tsp sesame seeds

a few drops of toasted sesame oil

1 pinch powdered ginger

1/2 tblsp corn starch

vegetable oil for frying

Mix together all ingredients except vegetable oil in a bowl. Form golf ball sized balls and slightly flatten them from the mixture. Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add turkey patties and cook for about 2 or 3 minutes on one side. Check to make sure patties have browned a bit, then flip patties over and cover with a lid. Finish cooking for another two minutes or so, until patties are cooked through. Makes about 5 patties.

Fuzzy Wuzzy Wuz A Bear

Thanks to Tona-mama of Kimi's Little Adventure blog, I now know what pork floss is, and have been able to track it down at my local asian market. Thanks Tona-mama!

I used pork floss, which was labeled as pork fu at the Asia Mart in Santa Rosa, to cover these three onigiri rice balls to make a little teddy bear. The pork floss has a kind of carpet like texture. I made the onigiri by hand, then rolled them in the pork floss. The details are made with nori seaweed and provolone cheese, and a little heart pick. The flavor of the pork floss is somewhat sweet, but also has a soy taste to it. It's kind of like those burnt ends of a pork loin or pork ribs.

Also in this bento: steamed corn on the cob from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, edamame, cherry tomatoes, a pineapple flavored jelly candy, a slice of purple sweet potato with a piece of provolone on top, and my first ever "rabbit" apple (it's supposed to look like a rabbit with his little ears, mine not so much). I used a Gravenstein Apple from Walker Apples. Gravenstein Apples are a special treat here in Sonoma County. They have been grown here since the early 1800's. We have a fair to celebrate the Gravenstein Apple each year in Sebastopol and this August 14th and 15th will mark the 100th Anniversary of the Gravenstein Apple Fair! I can't wait!

You may have noticed a few changes on my blog. I now have my own Etsy.com shop! I do a bit of crafting in my spare time and I made these cute little bento box felt straps to hold bento boxes together. This is a smiling onigiri. If you want to see more of my bento box felt straps, and perhaps get one for yourself, check out Sonoma Bento on Etsy.com.

Caterpillar Bento

Two posts in one day?! I am actually catching up over the weekend. Yesterday I tried out traditional bento ingredients like inarizushi and a mango rice cake. Today I am using an idea I saw on KidsDreamWork.com in which you mix purple sweet potato into rice to make purple rice! It worked really well.

In this bento: three hand shaped purple onigiri with slices of olive for eyes, a red pickled ginger mouth, and spaghetti antennae, a piece of steamed corn, steamed romano green beans from Crescent Moon Farms, cherry tomatoes with a CUTE leaf pick, and fried padron peppers also from Crescent Moon Farms. If you are wondering where to get purple sweet potatoes, I suggest checking your local asian market. I found the potato used in this bento in San Francisco's Nijiya Market, but today I discovered the same kind of purple sweet potatoes at the Asia Mart on Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa. They may also be called Hawaiian Okinawa Sweet Potatoes. They are white skinned with a deep purple flesh.

To make purple rice, simply mash some cooked purple sweet potato and them mix it into cooked rice. Shape it using a piece of plastic wrap covering your hand, so that it doesn't stick to your fingers.